Category Archives: Music News

I want a porch. I want a friggin’ porch so bad. If I had my way I would move out of my Hollywood apartment away from my homeless neighbors who live on the stoop and the drunk assholes ready to kill someone over a double double from In and Out real fast. I want a porch. I want to sit on it and I want to listen to music and relax and drink a lot of beer without a care in the world. I would have massive speakers and a rocking chair. That to me at the moment is “the life”. With Blitzen Trapper as my band of choice and their newest record “American Goldwing” as the soundtrack to my laid back afternoon I think I’m on to something here.

Indie rock, folk rock, southern rock, call it what you will Blitzen Trapper is a rock band. They call Portland, Oregon home and have been touring heavily for the last few years. They just released “American Goldwing.” It’s one part rock and roll guitar laden, drum heavy grooves and one part distinct cool vocals with a southern twist. Blitzen Trapper have created a sound all their own and I’m sold 100% on what they are selling. Next track is called “Fletcher” which is one of my favortie tracks on the record.

After releasing Furr in 2008 Blitzen Trapper fell onto my radar. After seeing them at Coachella Music and Arts Fest later that year (or in 09, I can’t remember) I couldn’t get them out of my head. I have been following them on and off since then. They released an awesome record called “Destroyer of The Void” in 2010 and now American Goldwing is just solidifying what I saw years ago. These guys are tight and have honed this music and are perfecting it.

Despite being from Portland Blitzen Trapper has a little bit of a southern twang to them and then they just kick you right in the junk with a tune like Your Crying Eyes. I think thats what I like most about these guys. They have that southern influence that eases you into the music with familiarity and then they turn up the volume.

The band currently has six members with Eric Early on guitar and vocals with Brian Adrian Koch and Marty Marquis on drums and vocals and guitar and keyboards respectively. The vocal duties are supported Erik Menteer on Guitar and Keyboards, Michael VanPelt on bass.

Blitzen Trapper is currently on tour. Lucky for me they are wrapping up their tour on November 17th at the Music Box in Hollywood. Tour dates page is HERE. Their new album “American Goldwing” is available anywhere where people care about good music, so basically the internet and Amoeba Music on Sunset Blvd. Here are a couple final tracks from “American Goldwing.” One rockin’ and the last track which is not so rockin’ but a great way to end the record. Check these guys out when they are in your town. In fact go out of your way by hours and hundreds of miles to see these dudes. It’s worth it.

Muppets fans get ready. A couple weeks ago the soundtrack to the new highly anticipated Muppet movie was released. Amazing indie rock acts takes on Muppet classics. I love the muppets more than sunshine to the point where it is extremely awkward when people come into my office and see my collection of Muppet shit, but guess what? I don’t care. Muppets are cooler than skinny jeans and flannel. Before I get into the artists and the record itself I wanna kick it off with a Muppet classic we all know and love done a little bit differently… ok, go.

This soundtrack features 12 tracks from folks like the aforementioned OK Go to the sweet solo sounds of Andrew Bird and Rachel Yamagata and pretty much everyone in between. These new takes on old classics are re-energizing my childhood dreams of becoming Animal when I grow up.

As you can see from OK Go’s take on The Muppet Show Theme Song people are doing things a little differently on this record. One of my favorite songs is Rainbow Connection. Done by Weezer and Hayley Williams of Paramore fame. They take a more straight forward approach to the tune and thats not a bad thing at all.

Other great artists include My Morning Jacket with “Our World” and Alkaline Trio with “Movin’ Right Along”. Both are hugely successful acts who have come up through the indie and jam scenes. Another great standout is LA’s own Airborne Toxic Event with an awesome take on “Wishing Song.”

As a compilation this record is a gem and as a compilation involving the new Muppets movie it’s even better. We all know and love these songs and we all know and love the artists covering these tunes. Here’s a full track list just incase your gonna be “that guy” and not just go out and buy the record based on the awesome tracks you’ve already heard.

There is a great balance between the full band blowouts and the small gentle solo acts on this compilation. Songs to note aside from what I mentioned above are “I Hope That Something Better Comes Along” by Matt Nathanson and The Fray with the popular “Mahna Mahna”. To end this thing properly I have to post the latter of those two tracks and then as usual with all my blogs, the last track on The Green Album.

Where can you find ten of the best singer/songwriters from Tennessee in one place to play a concert together? Nashville’s own free concert series: Live on the Green!

Ten Out of Tenn is more than a band comprised of ten of Nashville’s best singer/songwriters. It represents a community of friends and artists that make up one of the best emerging artist scenes in the country. When most people think of Nashville, they think about pop country and honky tonks, but Music City has much more to offer the current music industry. That is part of the reason why Ten out of Tenn came to exist. The band showcases the raw talent in a group of friends that “create organic pop music in the shadows of today’s slick commercial country music industry.” They travel together as a band supporting each other, and as a sum of creative talent on stage, showcasing some of the best and brightest songs and songwriters that Nashville has to offer. Ten Out of Tenn features Katie Herzig, Andy Davis, Tyler James, Trent Dabbs, K.S. Rhoads, Griffin House, Matthew Perryman Jones, Butterfly Boucher, Jeremy Lister and Erin McCarley. Will Sayles is the group’s talented drummer. Check out these clips from some of my favorite new songs!

The idea to form this singer-songwriter supergroup was born while Kristen and Trent Dabbs were on the road. They recognized that some of their favorite music came from their friends who were also emerging artists. “We were thinking about how much music we like that happens to be our friends,” said Trent. “There’s a community of people here with a lot of talent.” That idea turned into a perfect reality when they were able to get a group of other incredibly talented artists to join them. Since then, “Ten Out of Tenn has produced compilation albums, a Christmas album, four tours, showcases at music festivals like SXSW, and an award winning documentary, Any Day Now, that debuted during the 2009 Nashville Film Festival.” The documentary fully illustrates the concept and the purpose behind Ten Out of Tenn, and gives an excellent view of what it means for the individual artists that are part of this team. Check out the trailer for Any Day Now, filmed by Jeff Wyatt Wilson.

Ever go to a concert and can’t wait until the band plays their best songs? Well imagine hearing 20 excellent songs in a row from some of the best singer/songwriters in Nashville. These talented artists and musicians don’t just stand around while one plays their song. They are also the backing band for each other, and it creates such an amazing vibe. As individual artists, these singer/songwriters have “released over thirty albums, had song placements in countless television programs & films, and shared the stage with musicians such as REM, Sarah McLachlan and John Mayer.” However for Ten Out of Tenn, fame or fortune isn’t a priority. The drive behind their purpose surrounds the age-old concept of creating and sharing their music with other people. The bottom line is that this group is amazing. Unfortunately, Ten Out of Tenn has only two more stops on their tour! Stay up to date with the latest music and tour dates from Ten Out of Tenn and learn more at 10outoftenn.com.

I’m going to start this blog off by saying I love music. I love the sounds I love being a part of thriving music scene here in LA, seeing shows and being a small part of the creativity. Back in the day in college I went the standard college radio station route to put myself right smack frickin dab in the middle of arguably one of the most diverse and ever changing music scenes in the country, Boston Massachusetts. Little WERS 88.9 fm has literally made me the music fan I am today and my dad, can’t forget him either. I have been to hundreds of shows and in those early years where I discovered it’s always better in a small club rather than a giant arena I got a glimpse of amazing real talent. This band I’m about to introduce you to is one of those groups whose members bring music and love of music full circle on a personal level. They are the Barr Brothers and their new record is something that I honestly don’t want to share with anyone and keep all to myself, but we all know I can’t keep a secret to save my life.

Brad and Andrew Barr are from Boston Massachusetts. They live in Canada now. They have a band which are called The Slip they share with bassist Marc Friedman and now they are The Barr Brother which the share with harpist and neighbor Sarah Page and Andres Vial who fills the void by playing bass, keys and percussion. My first introduction to these gentlemen was when they were part of The Slip when they were touring behind their amazing album Eisenhower. I remember doing two in studio mixes with the guys one was fully plugged in and the other was acoustic. The first mix was all material from Eisenhower, but the second they shared with me a couple new songs and I gave them my mixes to use as demos to make a new record with. This was about 5 years ago.

I have a amazing treat for this blog. One of the demos I recorded back in the day made it on the Barr Brothers newest release. To clarify my version didn’t make it on, but the song did. I’m going to post both of them. The first version of the song was recorded with Brad playing his acoustic guitar and Andrew playing the studios Steinway grand piano. The second is the second track off the Barr Brother’s self titled release. Same song, years apart.

Pretty cool huh? I don’t know how to play music very well but I’m pretty sure they changed the key. I’d love to know what you guys think in the comments section below. This is one of my favorite songs I was given the opportunity to record during my stay at WERS and as far as the record the music on this release is diverse and something that I could only see coming from the musicians that made it. I think it is truly listeners music. The nuances in it and the light additions of keys and the harp just bring light to the whole thing. Not every song is as light a lullaby as Ooh, Belle after all they were in an experimental rock/ jazz outfit for many years. Try this one on for size.

They still have the rock in them. I love the guitar and vocal pairing on this song. Brad Barr is an amazing guitar player and with the effects used on his vocals with his style of singing on this song it’s a little bit of a wake up and just shows how diverse these musicians really are.

There is a little blues element a little middle eastern rhythm and of course a jazzy element to this tune that really grabbed me and is definitely the standout on a record of standouts. I think tune will drive all the points I just made home. The next two tracks after Give The Devil Back His Heart are quiet acoustic songs, amazing, but then we get to the 7th track on the record called Lord I Just Can’t Keep From Cryin’. Welcome to the delta…

I can’t boast about these guys enough. They are amazing musicians and from my limited interaction with them over the years, they are amazing people always generous to share new music and try new things. I think this record is a testament to their efforts to try new styles of music and play the music that inspires them. From the quietest notes of Ooh Belle to the loudest grittiest notes of Lord I Just Can’t… the dynamic range on this record is really one to be admired. As a music fan I think I can recommend this band and this music to just about any one.

The Barr Brothers are currently touring on their new self titled release and will be making stops in Los Angeles on November 2nd at the Hotel Cafe. Do your selves 2 favors. Get your hands on this record. It is available on Amazon and iTunes. It is also available to listen to on Spotify. Here is the last track from The Barr Brother’s self titled release. Next time I’m going to write about the Muppets, yes the Muppets.

Dot The One, the most under-rated and over-talented Philly rapper probably of all time, has just released the first single off his newest project, AGL (Above Ground Level), a mixtape due to be out on 11/11/11. Dot has been working on this project for over a year now. The single is called “Salute Me” – Just take a listen:

Dot, otherwise known as Brandon Cromwell, has been hustling crazy hard over this last year. In addition to working on AGL, he’s also been doing live shows, shooting music videos, and he even pulled a stunt called 30 Day Reign where he released a new free song every day for 30 days on his Facebook page. This dude is a beast!

AGL Promo Vid:

That video reminds me of an older song from Dot The One called “Say Hi” – This track is beyond classic:

Whether he’s writing or just freestyling, Dot The One has earned his name. His style is completely unique, and his complex and carefully crafted flow spills out so smoothly he makes it look too easy. This kid has a jewel.

Recent interview w/ Dot on inspiration:

Check out this Dot The ONE Playlist on Beat-Play. Just listen to the first track and you will be hooked. His producers are disgusting, his collaborators are nasty, and Dots not afraid to just spit straight for 5 minutes right through the hooks.

This kid brings a breath of fresh air to any hip hop fan who has been hurting lately. Finally, somebody you can get down with. That playlist tells the whole story, at least until AGL comes out in November. Judging from Salute Me, I have the feeling that this mixtape is going to take Dot’s greatness to a whole nother level. This is going to be the best mixtape of the year. <period. You heard it here first.

It’s another Saturday in Nashville and if you’re the least bit interested in new music from Nashville, you have to be at Centennial Park for another round of bands at Musicians Corner. There were a number of great artists that performed this week including a new electronic indie rock group called SPELLS. Led by Trevor James Tillery, SPELLS made their debut performance at Musicians Corner, and gave themselves a great start to a promising season of promoting their new music. That’s right, they also have a really impressive debut album called Escapist.

SPELLS independently released Escapist on July 15, 2011. The album travels back and forth between serene melodies and big dirty electronic grooves. Songs like “Escapist” and “Where Have You Been” really drive the album with dominating hooks and big Muse-like bass lines, while songs like “City on a Hill” reproduce a somber feel with ambient sweeps that seem to support lyrics about a broken world. Overall, this is a really cool album that contains some very intelligent music. Both the musicianship and songwriting replicate a great sound and fresh feel. For example, “Transient” carries a tight groove in an ambient song about the mystery of life. I feel the need to say, Jake Goss, I love the entrance with the crash on two after the rolls. It puts a perfect touch on top of those phrases. Enough of me talking about the music, take a listen to some killer new tracks from SPELLS:

Throughout Escapist, SPELLS “writes about a yearning for something beyond the modern world. He’s rebelling against the technology-saturated realm that adds layer upon layer of complication to life, causing dreams to become a small glimmer in the back of people’s minds as they chase the material.” (Next Big Nashville). Tillery has something important to say, and he’s saying it through his carefully-crafted melodic electro-pop. “These are the kind of songs I write,” he reveals. “These are the things that I’m constantly thinking about and haunted by. And music is an outlet where I can get that out – an outlet to hopefully get other people thinking and start knocking down walls.”

Escapist was produced by Josh Niles and featured Trevor Tillery (vocals, guitars, keys), Brian McSweeney (vocal percussion, backing vocals), Jake Goss (drums), and Adrian Walther (bass). After working on the record for the last year, it released this summer and has been getting a lot of local attention in Nashville. SPELLS played at 12th & Porter on thursday night as part of Next Big Nashville’s Soundland Festival, which took place this week. This is a band that you need to know about. Keep listening and supporting SPELLS because they’ve really got something here. Check them out online at spellsofficial.com.

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